10 Football Stadiums That Have Stunning Aerial Views (And 10 That Look Like Dumps)

A not-so-nice football stadium, can look really nice from an aerial view, while a nice football stadium, can look odd from an aerial view. When looking at stadiums from an aerial view, you’re looking from above seeing what surrounds the stadium, and what stadiums look the best looking from far away. There are really nice stadiums that could be placed in the middle of nowhere, and don’t look appealing from up above. While other stadiums that are ugly, can look nice from above due to the scenery around the stadium. And we’re not only looking at NFL stadiums, but college stadiums too.

Fans don’t realize that some college football teams can be extremely valuable, which allows them to play in stadiums that you would think belong to a NFL team. Well, these teams know how to get you, as they put together a stadium that can hold a massive crowd. And with college, many stadiums have beautiful aerial views because they’re all wearing the same color and the stadium is packed.

Many of these stadiums’ aerial shots are taken on times of the day when they know the stadium looks nicer, or when the background surrounding the stadium fits the picture better. Just because these stadiums look nice in these pictures, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re worth going to. Some teams get lucky with location, even though their stadium may be one of the worst in football. So, let’s take a look at some of the most beautiful aerial shots taken at football stadiums.

20 Stunning: Neyland Stadium - Tennessee Volunteers

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While Tennessee may not be an SEC powerhouse at the moment, the Vols still have one of the most highly recognized stadiums in the nation. When you see the orange and white all throughout the crowd, you know you’re in Tennessee. Seeing Neyland Stadium from above is simply breathtaking.

Very few stadiums are able to have the color scheme that the Volunteers do, and when you see it from up above, it’s really cool.

For Volunteers fans, they should have an extreme sense of pride seeing how their fan base looks from far away. If you haven’t been to Neyland Stadium before, just imagine how crazy it can get.

19 Dump: Oakland Coliseum - Oakland Raiders

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There are actually two sports venues in this area that both need to get torn down. We won’t talk about Oracle Arena, but the Oakland Coliseum needs to go. As for football purposes, it only has a few more years left, until the Raiders move to Las Vegas. But, that still means the Athletics get stuck with one of the worst stadiums in the game.

From far away, the Oakland Coliseum doesn’t look any better. It’s in one big parking lot, with Oracle Arena a couple of hundred feet away. Just from looking far away, you can tell that both of these stadiums are both in need of an update.

18 Stunning: NRG Stadium - Houston Texans

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Not everyone is in love with NRG Stadium, but from the sky, it looks really nice. Indoor football stadiums are becoming more common, because it takes away the chances of playing in poor weather conditions, and also allows you to be more creative with the stadium. From above, NRG Stadium looks huge. It looks like a stadium that has a lot of cool effects that are added to it.

And to add the cherry on top, you get to see the city of Houston in the background. Whenever a city can be seen from the stadium it’s usually a nice view.

17 Dump: TIAA Bank Field - Jacksonville Jaguars

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While the Jaguars play is improving, their stadium hasn’t. Constant changes are made to what is the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

What the organization really should do, is looking to build a new stadium, and then they would have a consistent sponsorship tagged on the stadium.

When you’re looking from above, things don’t get any prettier. The Jaguars are due up for a new stadium, and if the success continues, they will eventually be forced to do so. TIAA Bank Field is not the ideal place for fans to watch games, but it seems like they may wait to make sure it would pay off.

16 Stunning: Ohio Stadium - Ohio State Buckeyes

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One of the most beautiful stadiums in college football, lays in the state of Ohio. Of course, the Buckeyes are going to have a nice stadium, and it looks great from above. Seeing the legendary entrance, to seeing Ohio State all over the field, it’s awesome. Honestly, Ohio Stadium is nicer than many professional stadiums.

It’s considered to be one of the tougher places to play in college football, and it makes a ton of sense considering how stunning their stadium is and the way the crowd surrounds the field. A nice stadium plus a really good football team, usually will pack out a college football stadium.

15 Dump: Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City Chiefs

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When you look from inside Arrowhead Stadium, it seems alright. Probably not the stadium fans want to spend their Sunday’s at, but it’s not the worst place to go. But when you look at it from an aerial view, it might be the worst place to go. Arrowhead Stadium is in the middle of nowhere, which you wouldn’t expect watching Chiefs games on television.

Yes, it might not make a difference, but looking at it is very unappealing. Arrowhead looks like a big landing spot for something, with the stadium having a very weird design from above. Most fans may now lose desire to see it.

14 Stunning: Bank Of America Stadium - Carolina Panthers

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Bank of America Stadium may not be the stadium to go out of your way to, but it has beautiful scenery surrounding the stadium. Looking from above, you see the baby blue seats, with a nice view of Charlotte, North Carolina. The stadium is in close proximity to the city, which makes it such a nice view.

The stadium itself is nothing to rave about, but you can’t deny this view is something special.

North Carolina isn’t necessarily a state with a lot of tourist things to do, so they were smart to place the stadium as close to the city as they could.

13 Dump: FedEx Field - Washington Redskins

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No matter which direction you look at FedEx Field, it looks like garbage. Just an ugly stadium, with a dangerous grass surface, and unappealing view surrounding the stadium. Fans would think that since the Redskins play in Washington D.C., there would be some cool views to see from far away. But, the Redskins don’t play near anything, making it hard to see any historic buildings from the stadium.

Many analysts have complained about the stadium’s grass surface, and fans complaining about their experience at the stadium. So, there’s no surprise that it would be considered a dump on this list.

12 Stunning: Michigan Stadium - Michigan Wolverines

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Game days at Michigan Stadium can get crazy, especially when the Wolverines are winning. You see it a lot of college game days, and night games on Saturdays, but TV networks love showing Michigan Stadium from far at night. The navy blue and yellow throughout the stadium is a common view that college football fans get to see.

Unlike most stadiums, there’s nothing special around the stadium. What makes this view so beautiful is that it’s Michigan, with eye-popping colors, in a legendary stadium. You can truly see why this venue is aptly named, "The Big House." That looks intimidating if you're an opposing fan or team looking at it.

11 Dump: Levi's Stadium - San Francisco 49ers

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The exterior of Levi’s Stadium is really, weird? White poles surround the outside, almost making it look like a construction site in a way. There’s no noticeable signs from far away of 49ers players, or really anything that stands out.

There’s probably fans that drive by the stadium that don’t know much about football, thinking the stadium is under construction.

With the 49ers being on the rise, it would be nice to see the team have a stadium reflective of their uprising. This stadium isn’t up to par for what the expectations of the 49ers should be. The worst thing is, the stadium was just built a few years ago, so the Niners are stuck in there for at least 20 years.

10 Stunning: Soldier Field - Chicago Bears

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Chicago is one of the most beautiful cities in the country, and when you’re flying over Soldier Field, you can actually get a really nice view of the city. Some of these stadiums are really close to the city, whereas Soldier Field is still a little bit further. But because the city is so big, it stands bold behind the stadium.

With the waterfront, also right next to the city, it makes up some incredible pictures. And when it’s snowing, this view can be even nicer. It might not be pleasant to watch football in freezing cold weather, but at least it has nice scenery.

9 Dump: Nissan Stadium - Tennessee Titans

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Most stunning views on this list have the city in the background, but sometimes the city doesn’t do much to the picture itself. That would be considered the case with Nissan Stadium, with the city of Nashville in the background. A weird color scheme, and an odd scenery that includes a ton of parking lots, and not seeing a flattering view of Nashville, just doesn't appeal.

If you’re going to have colored seats, it needs to make sense. The color pattern is sporadic and looks odd. Many people love the state of Tennessee, but they should be able to agree that there’s plenty of other views in the state.

8 Stunning: U.S. Bank Stadium - Minnesota Vikings

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Minneapolis isn’t known for the beautiful skyline of their city like the country's bigger cities do, but they sure get a flattering picture behind U.S. Bank Stadium. What makes this view so unique, is the stadium itself. U.S. Bank Stadium is only two years old, and is one of the nicer stadiums in the NFL.

When looking at the stadium from the outside, it pretty much acts as a mirror.

Some views though actually have the reflection of the city on the stadium.

It truly is such a beautiful stadium. And it’s still beautiful when you look at it from the outside. The Vikings did a good job of building a new stadium, that had originality.

You would think that stadiums in Los Angeles would have to be nice, considering it’s a city that's all about glitz and glamor. But, there’s really no sporting venue that stands out in L.A. besides the Staples Center. The Rams were originally from St. Louis, but now play in Los Angeles. They’re currently using Los Angeles Memorial Colisuem as a temporary stadium, until their permanent stadium is done being built, when they will share a stadium with the Chargers. Nobody in the Rams organization probably cares about how ancient or ugly this stadium looks, as they know it’s a temporary home.

6 Stunning: AT&T Stadium - Dallas Cowboys

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Jerry’s house of course has to be somewhere on the list. And like every ranking that discusses his stadium, it shines bright. AT&T Stadium is one of the nicest stadiums in the league, and seemed futuristic at the time when it was built. And it still is. When teams build new stadiums, they try to replicate what Jerry Jones was able to do in Dallas. AT&T Stadium has a 60-yard long TV screen above the stadium, which has been one of the most iconic pieces of a NFL stadium in history. Other teams have tried to find that one thing to make their stadium pop.

5 Dump: Lambeau Field - Green Bay Packers

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Some views of Lambeau Field may it look really nice, while others don’t have that same effect. Lambeau is a legendary field with an iconic entrance, but truth is, the stadium isn’t all that nice.

Because of its history, it will be really hard to imagine the team ever moving on from the stadium.

Lambeau is most comparable to a Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, it’s just iconic. And because you really don’t have that in the NFL, it will be hard for the Packers to ever leave, as it's a relic in a league where pretty much every team has a modern stadium. All it really is to the non-football fan, is a basic stadium in the middle of nowhere.

4 Stunning: Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta Falcons

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One stadium that may have kept up with the standards that Jerry Jones set, is Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Falcons new stadium opened last season, and is definitely one of the top three nicest stadiums in the league. Cheap food options, a big screen that wraps around the top of the stadium, and a unique exterior. What else would you expect from a stadium that is named after one of the nicer cars there are? This stadium has high expectations to live up, and it’s living up to them. It is definitely worth a trip up to Atlanta, especially with the city so close to the stadium.

3 Dump: Heinz Field - Pittsburgh Steelers

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We would be lying if we said it’s not worth visiting Heinz Field. But, when you look at it from an aerial view, it doesn’t seem worth visiting. When you’re inside the stadium, you can see the city of Pittsburgh from one of the end zones. But from above, you can see clearly that this stadium is away from the city. Besides what seems to be a river, it’s not a good view. Unless you’re watching the game and Steelers fans are waving their Terrible Towel, that’s probably a good view to see. Not all views in the stadium, look the same from other views.

2 Stunning: CenturyLink Field - Seattle Seahawks

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And the nicest view from above, comes from CenturyLink Field. The aerial view of the stadium might just be the most beautiful view in all of football. A crazy fan base, a unique roof with the name of the stadium in bold letters, with the city in the background.

If Seahawks fans want to be upset about this offseason went, at least they can look at aerial views of the stadium and be proud of their city.

And who knows, maybe the Seahawks shock people and play a lot better than other people would expect. Sunday’s from this view should be cool to see.

1 Dump: Hard Rock Stadium - Miami Dolphins

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There are going to be NFL fans who absolutely love aerial views of Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Dolphins spent a lot of money to add the roof of the stadium, which you can clearly see from higher up in the air. And Dolphins fans want you to know that is the stadium if you’re flying above it, considering the name of the stadium is on top of the roof. But, it looks like they just added a big piece of cardboard to cover what is actually the stadium. Plus, the stadium is in the middle of a less desirable area of south Florida, so the surrounding area doesn’t help add to the view.